UC workers say they are struggling to survive in California, and fighting unfair system’s that discriminate against them
By Mark Jones
15 March 2019
On Monday, March 5, San Francisco Labor City and the city of Piedmont opened the first “living library” to provide free books to low-income residents in the poorest parts of the city. The project is part of a statewide effort to provide low-income residents with books, computers and internet access. While there was no shortage of enthusiasm on Tuesday morning, the enthusiasm soon turned to fear as organizers realized the project has run into trouble.
The first “living library” opened in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood, but the project has run into trouble and could be shut down soon.
Photo: Mike DeFiore/Hoodline
Earlier this month, a lawsuit was filed against the San Francisco library system by the Oakland-based National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and Disability Rights California, a disability rights group. Attorney Joseph A. Amestoy told the Bay Area Media Group that if library officials are forced to shut off the program, “it will be the first time people have ever taken the city of San Francisco to court to shut down a public library.”
The library is the first of an effort to provide free books and computer resources to low-income communities across the US. In San Francisco, the first library opened on March 5, providing books for free, with computers for residents who are blind or have an intellectual disability, the disabled, those with low incomes, or have limited access to the internet.
The project is part of a statewide effort called The California Book program, which was first announced in 2014, when then-Gov. Jerry Brown announced the $17.5 million expansion of the program. The program is intended to make it possible for low-income residents to obtain free books, access computers and internet in libraries and other public places, and participate in other programs, such as library trips and summer reading programs.
But on Monday, June 5, a suit was filed on behalf of a group of parents and teachers in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood, alleging the project has run into trouble. The suit, filed by Disability Rights